


Straight From the Heart

by idra



Series: 28 Days of Love [26]
Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: Amita is a bad person in this, Love Letters, M/M, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idra/pseuds/idra
Summary: Charlie is receiving secret love letters from someone.  When he finds out who it is, will he be happy about it or not?Spoiler alert: He is.
Relationships: Charlie Eppes/Colby Granger
Series: 28 Days of Love [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/936522
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Straight From the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know. Enjoy. 
> 
> Prompt was love letters.

"Hey Charlie, did you ever figure out who was sending you those love letters?" Don asks as he sets a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. 

"Love letters, Charlie?" Alan looks between his sons as Charlie rolls his eyes. 

"No, Don. I haven't. Dad, it's no big deal. Probably some math groupie or something." He looks up as the doorbell rings. "That's probably Don's team. I'll be back."

Alan looks at Don. "This is the second time he's received love letters. Didn't he find out before it was one of his class?" 

"Yeah, but these are different. I confronted Amita, and she laughed at me. Told me she's been offered another professorship at MIT and she's leaving in a couple of weeks. Charlie won't give up working on the FBI cases, plus doing math for Larry, plus his obsessions with cognitive emergence and the Eppes theorem." Don shakes his head. "Honestly, I don't blame her. But... Charlie's been on edge since the first love letter. I don't think it's the usual 'Oh Charlie, you're the best mathematician ever!' type of thing. This is... Not a stalker thing, but talking about Charlie's assets outside of the math." Don shrugs. "I don't even know. I've got Colby acting as a bodyguard, but pretty soon, Charlie's going to figure that out. I don't think he and Charlie get along that well, so... I probably should've asked David, but I know he would've figured it out then." 

"And he won't figure out that the Idaho farm boy is babysitting him?" Alan just raises an eyebrow and Don shrugs again. They're cut off from talking more by Charlie coming in, followed by Colby, David, Megan, Larry, and Amita. "Hello everyone! Don told me we'd have a crowd for dinner. I made roast with carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, and Charlie and Don went to the bakery for fresh bread. Larry, the mashed potatoes and the bread are white, I have milk, and cottage cheese for you as well." 

"Alan, I appreciate you making allowances for my preference." 

"Of course, Larry." Alan grins at his old friend and then looks at Amita. "Since I know that you don't eat red meat, I did make you a green salad, Amita." 

"Thank you, Alan." Amita grins at him and moves over to Charlie's side, tucking her arm through his. "Charlie, I thought you said it would be us and your family," she says through clenched teeth. 

"Don's team are family. And I never invited you. You were just eavesdropping when I was talking to Larry and Colby about tonight." Charlie pulls away and heads into the kitchen, glancing at Don.

Don moves in Amita's way as she tries to follow. "What are you doing?" he asks, frowning at her. 

"Get out of my way, Don!" Amita snarls, trying to push by him. 

Megan raises an eyebrow at Don who nods. Megan moves up behind Amita and grabs her by the arms, holding her in place. "Don't even try it," Megan says when Amita tries to snap her head back. 

"Look, you're the one who said you were going to MIT so why are you clinging so hard to Charlie all of a sudden?" Don asks, crossing his arms over his chest. "Last I heard, tonight was my team and Charlie's friends. You laughed in my face when I suggested you were the one writing those love letters to Charlie, so why are you so determined to claim him as yours?" 

Colby moves in, smirking a little. "It's very simple. She doesn't like the last two love letters. They offended her sensibilities when she stole them from Charlie's desk. They were... graphic." 

"And how would you know?" 

"I showed Colby. I figured since Don has him babysitting me in case the writer of those letters turns out to be a stalker, I should let him read them." Charlie gives Don a look, then smiles at Colby slightly. "Why are you here, Amita? You think I didn't get a call asking for references on you from MIT? They said very simply that you had accepted their offer of a position, but they wanted to make sure you were easy enough to work with." When Amita jerks out of Megan's grasp, Charlie just raises an eyebrow. "What? Do you think I told them the truth? That you're a witch who gets huffy if anyone else gets any credit? Even if Larry and I usually are the ones doing all the hard work, and you're just typing in your program?" Charlie takes a step back when Amita slaps him and he huffs out a breath. "Maybe I should've told them the truth, but I didn't. I lied so you would leave California. Now, get out of my house," he says softly. "Or I'll have Megan throw you out." 

Megan grabs Amita's arm when Amita goes to slap him again. "I don't think so. Out you go." She takes Amita by the shoulders and shoves her towards the front door as Alan moves to Charlie's side, lifting his chin. 

"I'm okay, Dad. She didn't hit me that hard," he says softly.

"What's going on, Charlie?" 

"Chuck..." 

"She decided she wanted to get clingy when she read the last couple letters. They were... as Colby said, graphic. As in... detailed about what this person wants to do with me." Charlie shrugs. "I told her I wasn't interested in being her toy, which is about how she made me feel." He looks at his dad. "I'm sorry, Dad. I know you had hopes of her being the one for me, so you could have grandbabies." 

"Charlie, never mind about that. I just want you happy and healthy. If Amita isn't going to help with those things, than she isn't the right person for you." Alan watches as Colby moves a little closer to Charlie. "Now, about these letters... Is Don right to worry about the possibility of a stalker?" 

"I don't know, to be honest. The letters..." Charlie flushes and looks down, not noticing that Alan is concentrated on Colby, not Charlie. "They make me feel... They make me feel things I didn't know I was capable of feeling. I just wish I could find out who's behind them."

Alan nods. "Well, maybe they'll reveal themselves soon. Now, everyone, have a seat. Colby, come help me in the kitchen." 

"Yes, sir." Colby follows Alan and glances at the door as it swings shut. "Before you say anything, Mr. Eppes..." 

"It's Alan. Since you're seducing my son, using love letters apparently, I insist that you call me Alan." He turns, holding a large, sharp knife. Colby swallows, loud enough to hear the click in his throat, but doesn't take a step back, even though Alan is dangerously close. "You hurt my Charlie, and you won't have to worry about what Don or the rest of the team will do. I know people who would happily make it look like an accident." 

"Yes, sir, Alan." He refuses to take a step back. "I'll be good to him. Good for him. I swear it to you." 

Nodding, Alan turns to the roast, slicing off several pieces. "You should tell him. I don't know what kind of graphic letters you're writing my boy, but it certainly sounds like he's interested." 

"I have one last letter to give him. I need to know if he'd be okay... with me being a guy."

"I really don't think that will be a problem. But okay. Don't string him along too long."

"The next letter is set to be delivered to him tomorrow. I can only hope that he's receptive to the idea..." Colby takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Well, yeah."

"Good. Grab the bowl of salad and the bread. I'll carry in the roast." 

When Alan and Colby return to the dining room, Don is watching them, eyes narrowed. Alan just returns the look, one eyebrow raised. Don slinks down in his chair and dips his head. It's obvious that Alan and Colby know something about the writer that they aren't sharing and he wants to know. It's his little brother who might be in danger. 

Alan sits next to him and kicks his shin gently. "It's not a stalker. Colby does know who it is, but he doesn't want to say," he murmurs under his breath. "You don't have to worry anymore. Charlie will be okay." 

"How does Colby know?" Don asks, glaring across the table at Colby who's focused on something Charlie is explaining. "Oh." Don's eyes go wide and he looks at his dad. "Oh!" 

Everyone turns to look at Don who shakes his head. "I figured something out. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Charlie frowns at him and looks back at Colby. "Do you know what he's talking about?" 

Colby shrugs. "Who knows? Could be some cold case or something. Or maybe he figured out how to make things work between him and Robin?" Colby looks across the table, scowling at Don. 

Charlie sighs and gestures back to his napkin. "Are you really interested in this?" 

Colby focuses back on Charlie and smiles. "Of course. I've learned a lot from you lately. At least since Don asked me to be your bodyguard."

Charlie flushes at that and Don raises an eyebrow and looks at his Dad who smiles. "Okay everyone, dig in!" 

And then the table is too loud to really ask any more questions or even really talk. After dinner, everyone moves into the living room where Alan pulls out a board game. "Anyone for Monopoly?" 

They all look at one another before shrugging and settling into various spots around the room. Charlie sits on the floor, next to Colby's spot on the couch. He leans a little into Colby. "At least it isn't Scrabble." 

Colby chuckles. "Don't do so well with the English language?" 

"I do fine with English. It's spelling I have trouble with." Charlie looks up at Colby and smiles, cheeks flushing. 

Colby winks at him. "You can use me as your spell check. I've always been pretty good at it."

"Thanks, Colby. I might just take you up on that." Charlie turns back to the board as Alan sets up the game. 

A little while later, Charlie lays his head back, resting against the side of Colby's leg. "I give up. I can't win at Monopoly." 

Colby runs his fingers through Charlie's curls, then pulls his hand back. "You're doing good, Charlie. You're just not the best." 

"I keep landing on Park Place and Boardwalk and damn it, Don owns those." Charlie pouts. "I'm out of money." He sighs a little and rubs his temple against Colby's leg. "I guess I should go work on Cognitive Emergence for a while." 

"Would you like some company, Charles?" Larry asks, looking over from where his head is in Megan's lap. 

"Nah, Larry. You finish your game."

Colby licks his lips. "I'll go with you, Charlie. I'm not doing much better." He gets to his feet and holds out a hand to help Charlie to his feet. They head outside and Don turns to Alan. 

"Really? Colby?" 

Alan merely shrugs and rolls the dice. "We'll see, won't we?" 

The next day, Charlie walks into his office, Colby following him. As much as he is loving the attention of Colby, he hates that it's only because of these stupid love letters. He wants it to be because Colby wants to be with him, because as much as the letters make him feel special and cared for, Colby... Colby makes him want.

He tilts his head when he sees another letter sitting on his desk. He moves forward, picking it up and turning it over and over in his hands. He can smell cologne on the letter, and it smells familiar, but nothing that Charlie can place. He sits down, ignoring Colby as he opens the letter.

_Dear Charlie,_

_This is going to be the final anonymous letter. I want you to understand, I never meant to let these letters go this far. I just... The first letter was me wanting to tell you how amazing you are, outside of the math stuff. Yes, you're a math genius and yes, you're brilliant, but that's not the only brilliant thing about you. You're funny and sweet, smart and caring, bright and loving... I want it to be me you love._

_You never seemed grossed out by the graphicness of the last two letters-- which I should apologize for, but I won't. You see, I've dreamt of doing those things with you and to you and in case you haven't figured me out just yet, I am a man. I'm someone very close to you. I'm not Larry or one of your students. If you were to ask me, if it's me, I wouldn't lie to you. But I hope you aren't turned off by the idea of loving a man in the physical way._

_If you haven't figured it out, and you are interested, meet me in the backyard of your house, tomorrow night. Bring Don or your dad if you're afraid, but I would never hurt you._

_Charlie, I want you to know, even if you choose not to meet me, even if you choose to be disgusted or ignore me or anything like that, I will always love you. That's straight from my heart to yours._

_Always,  
Your Admirer_

Charlie lets out a breath, still unsure who it could be. If it's not one of his students, the only people he knows are his brother and his team. His mind flits briefly to Colby and he shakes his head. Colby can't be the man who's been writing him. But it doesn't make sense for it to be David either. He turns, glancing at Colby who is flicking through one of his text books. "Colby?" 

"Yeah, Charlie?" Colby looks up, his cheeks more flushed than Charlie's seen them before.

"Are you.... Did you..." He looks down at the letter in his hand, inhaling the cologne wafting from it and it clicks in his head. This is Colby's cologne. "Did you write me these letters?" 

Colby bites his top lip and closes his eyes. He huffs out a breath and opens his eyes, looking directly into Charlie's. "I did say I wouldn't lie to you. Yeah, it's me." 

"Were you fucking with me?" 

Shaking his head, Colby sets the textbook aside and gets to his feet. He walks over to Charlie, moving slowly. "No. I meant every word, in every letter. The things I want to do to you, with you, Charlie..." He pulls Charlie to his feet, placing his hands on Charlie's hips. "I am in love with you, Charlie Eppes. I want to be with you, in every way possible. I hope you feel the same."

Charlie moves closer, sliding his arms around Colby's shoulders. "This might mean career suicide for you. The FBI isn't exactly known for being friendly towards gay men." 

"Doesn't matter. If I have you, I don't need anything else."

Laughing, Charlie licks his lips. "So, if I hadn't asked you tonight, what would you have done tomorrow night?" 

"I had this whole idea of a backyard picnic, under the stars-- well, as much as we get stars in LA. Your dad was actually going to help me set it up." 

"I want my picnic under the stars still." Charlie leans in, brushing his lips over Colby's.

Colby grins and nods. "Anything for you."

**Author's Note:**

> Just an FYI, contrary to how I usually write her, I do like Amita. Just... she makes a fun guy to be the bad person getting between my OTP. ;-)


End file.
